18 Lilies
by Tigger Springs
Summary: The perfect icing on Lindsay's birthday cake. [DL OneShot.]


Lindsay let out a long sigh as she contemplated how long she has been awake pulling of a double shift. She stared at the paperwork on her desk with bleary eyes. Squinting at the clock on the wall, it read: 11:27. The lab was almost empty except for a rustle here and there once every few seconds. A smile tugged on the corners of her lips as thoughts of Danny lingered her mind. She can't help but wonder why Danny was given the day off when it was her birthday. She had to admit that it wasn't a bad day as she is making it out to be. Danny had stolen her from Mac that day and took her to a fancy restaurant for lunch. She can't help but smile as she thought of Danny's words before she left.

"_Happy Birthday, Lindsay. The best is yet to come"_

They had definitely had their fair share of ups and downs but they both looked at it as checkpoints from which they can learn from and simply realize how much they mean to each other, learning along the way that even though they can live without each other, they _choose not to_, not even if death parts them. Lindsay can't help a small laugh escaping her lips as she reminisces the time Danny hinted on a possibility for marriage as he talked to Mac.

------

_Lindsay leans in closer to the glass wall making sure she wasn't completely in Mac and Danny's line of sight. She had been waiting for Danny __since the end of her shift because he had asked her to spend Christmas eve with him and his family. _

_"I told you it will happen to you" Mac said as he brushed past Danny on his way to the other end of the examining table._

_"What?"_

_"Love. It's about time you ate your words"_

_"Oh"_

_Mac looks straight at Danny who seems to be avoiding his stare at all costs. Being the straight-faced person that he is, he couldn't help a small smile turning up the corner of his lips as he observed Danny fumble for words to get himself out of the hole. _

_"Well that's the beauty of the whole situation Mac. The element of surprise, when you least expect it__, it happens to you and hell is it worth it. Who knows what else is there to come, definitely something even better"_

_"I was only talking about love, Danny. Not marriage. Now go grab Lindsay and take her to meet your mother" Mac half-heartedly joked. "I'm proud of you" he added with a serious look on his face._

_Danny looks up at him and gives him a how-did-you-know look which he shrugged off once he remembered that this was Mac he's talking to. "Thanks, Mac. Means a lot to me" and finally with an attempt to break the somewhat awkward father son moment, Danny said, "See you later, Mac__, I'm about to whisk away my gorgeous girlfriend. And no worries, I'll also grab a drink along the way while I eat my words"_

----

Lindsay broke out of her thoughts as Stella tapped on the glass door, "Hey kiddo. Sorry you had to pull a double shift on your birthday, crime doesn't celebrate special days. Danny got called in as well just about a half hour ago. He's in the break room in case you want to see him" Stella smiled as she walked off rounding the corner to the break room.

Lindsay stood up almost abruptly as she practically skipped her way out the door. This is just what she needs to elate her exhausted spirits. As she was about to turn the corner towards the break room, she held in a gasp as she looked at the floor. It was trailed in single-stemmed lily flowers; her favourite. _Danny_. Was all the thought that came to her mind as she bent down to pick it up. She looked carefully at the stem where a tag was clipped on, it read: "_Follow the lilies_".

Two lilies later, Lindsay found another note and saw a roughly scribbled tiger face on the paper and it said: _"I remember the first time you stole my heart"_, another two lilies later, she found the following note with the rough sketch of a doll face. _"I remember the time I first held your hand"_. She kept on picking up the lilies one by one with every two lilies carrying a note bringing her back to memory lane. On her eighteenth lily, she could feel tears welling up as she read: _"I remember the first time I knew I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you"_ As she looked up at the break room she saw everyone on Mac's team, Flack, Stella, Hawkes, Adam, Sid and even Pino there. However, one face stood out of all the rest. All she saw was Danny who looked almost nervous to approach her. Danny looks at Lindsay's bright teary brown eyes giving him all the courage he would ever need to ask her the most important question in their lives.

"I hoped you like the 18 lilies. One for each month we spent together" he smiled down at her as she hugged him tight not caring if the lilies in her hand were crushed against his chest. She was sobbing quietly against him and took every ounce of his control to hold her at arms-length looking at her. "You have to let me do this first, before you do that" he joked as he reached into his pocket for the small square box.

Danny took a step back as he knelt down on one knee and said, "Lindsay, ever since that day I saw you at the zoo, I've always wanted to hold you in my arms, know what it's like to see you happy, and even angry, see your face in the bright morning light and the dim lamp light. If you'd let me I would love to do that same thing every single day for the rest of my life. Happy Birthday, Montana. I love you so much, more than you can ever imagine, and these are just some of the reasons why I'm asking you to marry me" he said in a steady voice taking all of his self-control to hold back his own tears. "Lindsay Monroe, will you marry me?" He looked at her eyes intently as she held to his hand tightly.

"Yes" were all the words that came out of her mouth. And the only words that needed to be said in that special moment. She could hear everyone cheering even Stella's soft _aaww_s in the background. But at this very moment all she could think about was Danny as he slipped on the ring in her finger and gave her the warmest hug he could muster.

He leaned his forehead against hers as he hushed her tears away. He slowly leaned in closing his eyes as his lips brushed Lindsay's. Gentle at the beginning, and more passionate in the end as they both poured their emotions in that kiss. Both of them could taste the sweetness of each other's lips giving them both a glimpse of what's to come in the future.

_A/N: Hope you liked. First go at CSI:NY, I had a burst of inspiration and wrote this at exactly 12:47. I probably had lots of mistakes, so I apologize in advance._

_R&R._


End file.
